Beauty and the Beasts

The two of them spent the night on the tree. Muir chose a thick tree branch and let Bai Qingqing sit on top of it while leaning against the tree trunk.

As for him, he stood by her side like a statue.

The wind at a high altitude was much stronger and colder; it was as though the chilliness went straight to one’s bones.

Hugging her arms to her chest, Bai Qingqing could feel goosebumps rising all over her bare skin. Even though she had slept for a long time in the day, she couldn’t help feeling so tired that she kept yawning.

Feeling a weight on his body, a warmth spread from his fine feathers to Bai Qingqing’s skin. It felt unbelievably hot, like a heated electric blanket.

Like the little match girl who finally obtained the fireplace she had been yearning for, Bai Qingqing felt so comfortable that she let out a sigh, before raising her head to look at the eagle beastman.

Muir let out a soft screech and shifted his claws towards Bai Qingqing’s side so that he could envelop her in the warmth more completely.

…

Morning, the coldest time of the day.

A faint morning fog drifted on the ground, making it seem like a thin silk blanket was layered over the earth.

A speck of light shone through the layers of branches and leaves and fell upon Muir’s eyelid, making him open his eyes instantly.

When he saw the fog below, he narrowed his round eagle eyes.

The fact that it rained recently indicated that the drought was about to end. After the drought ended, those two mates of Bai Qingqing would be able to shake off the beastmen of the City of Beastmen and find her.

No way, this was his only opportunity to shake them off. He mustn’t let them catch up!

At the thought of this, Muir held the female under his wings even more tightly.

When a male got too far away from his spouse, he would lose the ability to sense where his spouse was. For instance, the distance between Sea Cliff and the City of Beastmen.

When Muir’s father raised them at Sea Cliff, he would often space out as he gazed in the direction of the City of Beastmen, appearing distracted.

And after they learned how to fly, he instantly left.

Perhaps Muir underwent too great a fluctuation in emotions, causing Bai Qingqing to suddenly wake up for no reason. She rubbed her eyes and looked up into the skies, the memories from last night speedily coming back to her.

“You’ve awoken?” Muir asked after transforming into a human. He sat on the tree branch with Bai Qingqing, one arm still placed on her shoulder.

With the warm blanket suddenly lifted from her body, Bai Qingqing felt so cold that she shivered. In a raspy voice, she said, “Let’s continue on our way.”

“Mm.”

Muir flew on quietly, as though he couldn’t bear to delay even for a moment. What Bai Qingqing didn’t know was that Muir had quietly started flying in a different direction.

Just as Curtis deliberately went in the wrong direction to keep Bai Qingqing safe, Muir was using the same method to mislead Curtis and Parker.

When it came noon, when the sunlight was most glaring, Muir caught a squirrel and roasted it simply, before bringing it to Bai Qingqing.

“I didn’t have the time to find condiments, so make do with this. When we reach Sea Cliff, I will be able to find salt powder.”

With a cold and tough expression, Muir tried to emulate the manner of speech of a beastman who was popular with the females. “I’ll definitely be able to roast meat as delicious as Parker. I will take good care of you.”

Muir had peeked at Parker roast meat many times and had already memorized the steps in which the condiments were added. He was confident of roasting the meat well.

With a somewhat unnatural expression, Bai Qingqing said when she took the food from him, “It’s alright, no need to go to all that trouble.”

She didn’t wish to give Muir hope, nor did she want to waste his time. But she really didn’t know how to reject him while not hurting his feelings.

Muir had stayed in the scorching hot rooftop during the drought, just so that he could stay by her side. Merely the thought of that made Bai Qingqing’s heart throb with mild pain.

If she was still single, and it was Muir she had first met when she landed in this world, she would probably have fallen for him.